All the Dirt on Gardening

Spaniard Creek on the Arkansas River During a visit to Spaniard Creek Park  yesterday we saw an aquatic plant that was attracting hundreds of fall pollinators including bees, wasps, butterflies, and skippers. The patches of flowers were covered and abuzz to the point that we all squatted down to watch. It turns out that this source of insect pollen is none other than Creeping Water Primrose. The South American variety is Ludwigia hexapelata and the US native variety is Lusdwigia peploides glabrescens . South American Water Primrose is so invasive in fact that in many states there are programs to eradicate it to prevent its clogging irrigation channels, rivers and lakes. In addition it is well known as mosquito breeding heaven. The native variety, L peploides is called aggressive rather than invasive. Ludwigia peploides glabrescens   Illinois Wildflowers says "This perennial plant is ¾–2½' long. It either floats on water or sprawls across the grou...

We gardeners are responsible for leaving the invasives out of our shopping carts and removing them from our gardens, woods, ponds, etc. And, they don't just have invasive plants. When in doubt, check out the lists Invasive dot org They can boast of 2,837 Invasive Species 1,885 species with images 58,101 images Images of Invasive and Exotic Species